Following recent wins for both Bournemouth and Swansea City, It’s increasingly more likely now that the three to go down will come from the four of Newcastle, Sunderland, Norwich City and Aston Villa.

There are no longer any odds available on Villa to suffer relegation, a factor highlighted by their dismal current position of being rooted to the bottom with just 16 points and their form of late.

Many believe it’s now two from three - Newcastle, Sunderland and Norwich - and after the Magpies suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, they soon became everyone’s favourites to join Villa for the drop.

However, the arrival of Benitez has marked a telling difference, and now Sky Bet’s odds of 8/13 from a previous 8/15 show where the money is heading and how they are now being tipped of the three for survival.

Former Liverpool boss Benitez is renowned for his tactical capabilities, and he will make the Tyneside club difficult to beat between now and May especially in their key six-pointers.

Norwich, despite holding Manchester City to a 0-0 draw, are 1/3 to go down with a winless run stretching back to the beginning of January condemning them to a place in the bottom three.

Sunderland currently have their heads just above water due to a better goal difference than Norwich, yet Sam Allardyce’s men have odds of 4/9 to go down which suggests they are still being tipped for relegation.

The Black Cats arguably have the more difficult set of fixtures of the three, and next weekend’s encounter with Newcastle at St. James’ Park will go a long way to deciding the fate of both clubs.

Tom Thorogood

I'm a 27 year old language teacher and writer based out in Mexico with a passion for football and swimming. I like to focus on the top European Leagues, especially La Liga, as well as the footballing development in Central and South America. My favourite teams include Derby County, Barcelona and Jagaures de Chiapas.